MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas is one of six states selected to participate in a national effort to encourage positive youth development strategies in schools, youth groups, sports teams and community programs.
The Kansas Building Partnerships for Youth Development (KsBPYD) program is funded by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and undertaken in cooperation with the National 4-H Council, said Elaine Johannes, Kansas State University Research and Extension youth development specialist.
The goal, she said, is to build collaborations that bring schools, youth organizations and community groups -- teachers, advisors, volunteers and others who work with youth -- together to reinforce positive youth development and life choices.
Other participating states are Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois and Minnesota, said Johannes, who is based in the School of Family Studies and Human Services in the College of Human Ecology at K-State.
The initial effort is directed at middle school youth, ages 9 to 13, who are experiencing growth and development and beginning to make some of their own decisions. Other projects working with high school age youth will follow.
Some decisions may involve risky behaviors, and it's important for young adults to be aware that sexual activity can lead to teen pregnancy and grown-up responsibilities, Johannes said. It is also important for youth to understand that not applying oneself in the classroom or choosing to drop out of school, rather than earn a degree, may lead to a lifetime of poverty, and that experimenting with drugs, alcohol or tobacco may lead to lifetime addictions that diminish quality of life and may end life prematurely.
The programs are inspired in part by 4-H youth development programs and the land-grant university system that is charged with providing research-based education to citizens through the national extension network. As part of that network, many extension agents throughout the state work to develop community collaborations, and also work with youth, Johannes said.
In Kansas, state collaborators include representatives from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas State Department of Education; Kansas Drop-In initiative (initiated by Gov. Mark Parkinson); Kansas Mentors Program, Kansas Communities in Schools, Kansas Enrichment Network, school, community and public health groups -- and K-State Research and Extension, which has offices in each of Kansas' 105 counties.
Extension professionals from Wyandotte County Extension have been members of the Kansas Building Partnerships for Youth Development (KsBPYD) program since its inception, Johannes said.
“We all want to be on the same page, and to encourage positive behaviors that will lead to personal growth and development, leadership, citizenship and community betterment," she added.
"Today's youth can be overwhelmed with choices. Many will mature at an earlier age, and may face poverty or hunger in addition to struggling with perennial issues in the growth, development and maturation process.”
Providing meaningful activities in safe environments with consistent messages that support the development of positive competence, care for others, community involvement and self-confidence, is a goal of the KsBPYD team of organizations.
“If a school, club, team and community can come together and work together to provide positive youth development, youth, their families and the whole community will benefit,” Johannes said.
For more information about building collaborations to support positive youth development in Kansas, contact Johannes at 785-532-5773. A national website about the effort is maintained at the University of Arizona at: http://byp.arizona.edu.
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